Salud Furious Over GAB Denial For Tapales Sparring

by Ronnie Nathanielsz

Promoter and boxing manager Rex “Wakee” Salud is furious over the decision by the Games and Amusements Board denying his fighter Marlon Tapales a clearance to spar with WBC world bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka at the renowned Teiken Gym in Tokyo owned by well-known Japanese businessman-sportsman Akihiko Honda.

Yamanaka will defend his title against former WBC flyweight champion and Oriental Pacirfic Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Malcolm Tunacao who is also a southpaw like Tapales.

In denying the request of Salud who submitted an MRI-Brain Scan to support his contention that the 20 year old southpaw Tapales didn’t suffer any ill-effects in dropping a twelve round majority decision to David Sanchez in a WBC Silver super flyweight title fight in Sonora, Mexico last February 23, GAB chairman Ramon Guanzon said “We still have emphasis on the 30 day rest period for this boxer. We regret to deny your request because of the rules and regulations of the GAB stipulating a 30 day rest period between fights, including sparring sessions.”

Guanzon added “we have to follow the rules and regulations to avoid accountability to the Office of the President of which GAB is directly under.”

In his letter to the GAB seeking a clearance by issuing a letter of authority to be able to apply for a visa as soon as possible. Salud insisted that the 30 day rest period “applies only to actual fights and does not apply to sparring.”

Salud stressed that Tapales would only spar for two weeks, three times a week beginning March 15 and would only spar for three rounds of three minutes each and will wear 16 ounce gloves and headgear.

In a conversation with BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard, chairman Guanzon stood firm on his decision even though it was pointed out that flyweight Michael Rodriguez who has a miserable record of 13-35-1 with 3 knockouts and lost four and drew one of his last five fights, had been allowed to fight every two months or sixty days which meant that if he trained properly for his fights he would be sparring during the 30-day rest period.

Guanzon countered by stating that the GAB is in no position to monitor whether a fighter was sparring or not within the 30 day period and said the responsibility was up to the fighter’s manager to protect his boxer’s interests.